How do I combined each 2 lines with a :

Fouad tbz

So I have alot of lines that look like this
a999999a
Matt48947
b999999b
unicornlove101010
smile123
Mattp1
p1looser
raventehpanda

And want to turn it to something like this
a999999a:Matt48947
b999999b:unicornlove101010
smile123:Mattp1
p1looser:raventehpanda

How do I go about that? Also how do I delete duplicate lines without textfx? because I can’t download it / install it.

guy038

Hello, @fouad-tbz, and All,

Your first task is very easy to achieve :

If you have to do this S/R, in a particular area of tour text, do a normal selection, first
Open the Replace dialog ( Ctrl + H )
If a previous selections exist, turn on the In selection option
Else, just ticked the Wrap around option
Select the Regular expression search mode

SEARCH (?-s)(^.+)\R(.+)

REPLACE \1:\2

Click on the Replace All button

Et voilà !

Regarding deleting duplicate lines, two solutions are possible :

If you don’t mind sorting your text, first, ( Edit > Line Operations > Sort Lines Lexicographically Ascending ) use the following regex S/R :

SEARCH (?-s)(^.+\R)\1+

REPLACE \1

which will delete all duplicate consecutive lines of your sorted list

Now, if you prefer to preserve the present order of your list, use the regex S/R, below :

SEARCH ^(?-s)(^.+\R)(?s)(?=.*\R\1)

REPLACE Leave EMPTY

which will delete all duplicate lines, keeping, only, the last duplicate lines !

Notes :

In all regexes, the (?-s) modifier, means that the dot special character matches any single standard character, only
In the third regex, the (?s) syntax means that, afterwards, the . can match, absolutely, any single character, even EOL ones
In the first regex, the (^.+) and (.+) part stand for a complete line, from column 1, without its EOL characters
In the last two regeges, the (^.+\R) part matches a complete line, from column 1, with its EOL characters
All areas between parentheses define a group, numbered 1, 2 and so on…, which can be re-used, either, in the search or replacement part, with the syntax \1, \2 and so on…
The + quantifier ( or {1,} ) represents any non-null repetition of the previous character or group
The * quantifier ( or {0,} ) represents any repetition, ( even none ) of the previous character or group
Finally, the \R syntax matches any king of EOL characters( line-break ), whatever the file ( Windows, Unix or Mac )

Best Regards,

guy038

P.S. :

For further information about regular expressions, refer to the link below :

https://notepad-plus-plus.org/community/topic/15765/faq-desk-where-to-find-regex-documentation/1

Jean-michel

@Fouad-tbz You can also use Macro for this. First, place the caret on the first line, in front of the first word. Start the macro recording and type the following keys:

End
:
Delete
Down arrow
Home

Stop the recording. Play the macro (1 time or repeat).